Offering
Two hours of social media strategy from our communications director
An animal shelter
Communications director
Communications director
Marketing
- Format
- Video call
- Time
- 2 hours
- Credits
- 2 credits
The Expertise Exchange
A neighborhood noticeboard where charities help each other.
Charities post what they can give and what they need. Golden Hint suggests pairs that can help each other, and time is paid for in credits, never money.
The Exchange opens in the next phase
First we verify every organization and test everything with real small charities. Until then, these examples show what it will look like. No real organizations are shown.
Offers and requests
Every card shows who's offering or asking, the area, the format, the time involved and the credits.
Looking for
Help setting up bookkeeping in QuickBooks
A youth literacy charity
Volunteer treasurer
Volunteer treasurer
Finance
- Format
- Video calls
- Time
- 3 hours
- Credits
- 3 credits
Offering
Our volunteer CPA will help close your books for the year
A financial literacy nonprofit
Volunteer CPA
Volunteer CPA
Finance
- Format
- Document review
- Time
- Fixed scope
- Credits
- 4 credits
Looking for
Someone to review our volunteer safeguarding policy
A neighborhood food pantry
Pantry coordinator
Pantry coordinator
Legal
- Format
- Document review
- Time
- Fixed scope
- Credits
- 1.5 credits
Offering
A webinar on writing your first grant, for up to 20 charities
A community health clinic
Development director
Development director
Fundraising
- Format
- Group workshop
- Time
- 90 minutes
- Credits
- 0 credits
Looking for
A board chair who has been there, to mentor ours for three months
A refugee welcome network
Board chair
Board chair
Governance
- Format
- Mentoring
- Time
- 1 hour a month
- Credits
- 3 credits
Examples for illustration. Group workshops cost attendees nothing; the host earns credits.
Every exchange, step by step
Clear from start to finish
- 1. Post: A charity posts an offer or a request.
- 2. Propose: Another member proposes an exchange.
- 3. Agree: Both sides accept a short agreement: scope, time, format and credits. The credits are held.
- 4. Do the work: Private messages, calendar links and a shared space for files, visible only to the two of you. Gentle reminders if things stall.
- 5. Confirm: Both sides confirm it's done, and only then do the credits move.
- 6. Review: Each side leaves a short, honest review.
Formats: one-off video calls, document reviews, mentoring over several weeks, workshops for several charities at once, and short secondments of staff time.
Your matches
The best match is the one where each side helps the other
Each charity lists what it's strong at and what it needs. Golden Hint finds pairs where each can help the other, and tells you why they fit.
An example match
An animal shelter is strong in Marketing and needs Finance
A financial literacy nonprofit is strong in Finance and needs Marketing
Why they fit: each has exactly what the other is asking for.
Thirteen kinds of help
The same thirteen areas organize the library and, later, the forum.
Telling your story so the right people hear it: social media, newsletters, press, and the words on your website.
Finding the money to do the work: grants, individual donors, events, and partnerships with local businesses.
Keeping the books straight: bookkeeping, budgets, financial controls, and getting ready for a review or audit.
Staying on the right side of the rules: state registration, annual filings, contracts, and policies.
A board that helps: recruiting members, running good meetings, and knowing who decides what.
Tools that save time: websites, donor databases, spreadsheets, security, and free software for nonprofits.
Looking after the people who do the work: volunteers, staff, policies, and safe recruitment.
Making the everyday run: space, supplies, schedules, deliveries, and the systems behind them.
Doing the right work and knowing it helps: program design, surveys, outcomes, and honest reports.
Looking like yourselves: logos, colors, flyers, reports, and making things easy to read.
Bringing people together: fundraisers, workshops, volunteer days, and online sessions.
Leading well without burning out: coaching, hard conversations, planning, and succession.
Getting from idea to working charity: structure, incorporation, tax exemption, and the first year.